Addicts try to overcome their addictions with the help of their families and others.
Genre: Documentary, Drama
Cast:Candy Finnigan , Jeff VanVonderen , Ken Seeley , Donna Chavous , Andrew Galloway , Maureen Brine , Michael Gonzales , Sylvia Parsons , Heather Hayes , Seth Jaffe , Jesse Hanson , Tara Fields , Meredith Vieira , Rod Espudo , Natalie Morales , Jim Reidy , Geri Bemister , Allison Fogarty
Alyson is a 27 year old girl who lives in Texas. After she graduated high school she was chosen to be a White House intern during the Clinton administration. It is rare that interns are asked back, Alyson was asked back three times. Alyson also had a full academic scholarship to Hofstra University.
Gabe is a gambling and Vanessa is a shopping addict and both their addictions are to the point to where they're going to financially ruin their families and cause estrangement from their fiends.
Jerrie's life is a mess. At 29, she can't make the rent that she shares with her best friend Jen, her husband Trent and their son. She has creditors calling night and day. And she can't kick her Vicodin addiction that grows with each passing day.
Alissa, 25, is a compulsive gambler. Her game of choice: slot machines. In the past two years, Alissa has lost more than $30,000 on 25 cent slots. She's accessed her father's credit card information to open up accounts to play slots online, and she's bounced more than $5,000 in checks. Her father has covered almost all her debts.
At 24, Sara had everything she ever wanted. She had a fairy-tale wedding in Hawaii, a beautiful baby girl, a house, three cars, and even competed in beauty pageants. Then, it all abruptly ended in divorce. Not knowing how to cope Sara turned to Crystal Meth, and now uses every day, all day if she can. A self-labeled "junkie," Sara has lost everything, including custody of her daughter.
In the 90s, Travis became a rock and roll star overnight. At 16-years-old, he was swept into the limelight as front man for Days of the New. But with success came the lure of drugs and alcohol. It didn't take long for Travis' addiction to crystal meth to become more important than his love of music.
Peter, a 21-year-old college graduate and aspiring actor, is wasting his life to a serious video game addiction. Alienated from his mother who abandoned him when he was 12, Peter escapes into the fantasy world of video games instead of dealing with the problems of his real life.
Once the valedictorian of New Hope Christian Academy, Tina is now a real-life desperate housewife. Taking 10-20 vicodin a day simply to function (and supplementing her usage with percocet), this mother of a 3-and-a-half year old son spends her days gambling her house and car payments while stoned on prescription pills.
Cristine is a 29-year-old wife and mother. While she loves her family, she can't live without her beer. Cristine drinks at least 18 beers a day, starting at 7am, sneaking out during work and not stopping until she passes out at night. Her husband's scared for their son and her mother's terrified that Cristine is killing herself.
This story, presented from the Intervention angle, will be an emotional look into the true crisis moment of an upper-middle class family from picturesque Huntington Beach trying to "save their son from certain death." Once lovable and talented, Kelly scored well above the genius level with a 160 in Abstract Reasoning on his IQ test.
Rachel, now 26, grew up a beautiful child in idyllic upper-middle class Maryland. But her body is withering away and she hasn't been home in years. Rachel is addicted to heroin and lives on the streets, making money as a prostitute. Her family and friends know she has already hit bottom and is nearing death. An intervention is their only hope for Rachel.
Michael has a serious rage problem. He has a history of violent behavior and has been known to punch holes into the walls of his father's house. Randi is a bulimic and a crystal meth addict. She is in denial of her condition and cannot deal with the fact that she was sexually abused as a kid.
Michael was a model kid who was always on the honor roll. He is also an amazing musician who taught himself to play guitar and piano by ear. Now at 24 years of age, Michael is addicted to pot, prescription pain pills and beer. A child of divorce who grew up overweight and a loner, Michael turned to sports and excelled in softball and football.
This emotionally gripping documentary series helps people confront their darkest demons and hopefully find a route to redemption. This "follow-up" episode will allow for a much deeper investigation of life after the intervention, as we revisit some subjects several weeks later to see if their intervention was successful.
Corinne is a pretty 18-year-old blonde girl who was an honor roll student, star athlete and played the clarinet and saxophone. She grew up in a normal middle class family. Corinne started using drugs at 14 after being sexually abused by a neighborhood boy who babysat her.
Howard is a professional race car driver who makes a living teaching others the ins and outs of new cars. He's got a great girlfriend who he loves. His life looks great on the outside, but he's breaking down on the inside. Howard has been a functioning alcoholic for almost 30 years, but he's now sliding down a slippery slope.
Adam, 34, was the star in his family with a successful voice-over, music, and acting career. He began using heroin heavily after his girlfriend broke up with him. His family still can't believe that was all it took. Now, Adam steals from his family, borrows money, and pan handles at gas stations to get enough money to score.
Michele, 46 - Plastic Surgery/shopping leads a busy social life and takes great pride in maintaining her health and personal appearance, to a fault, she is addicted to plastic surgery and compulsive shopping. She cites that while she was raped at the age of 16, she blames no one for her need to "fill the void.
For the past eleven years Salina has been suffering from severe bulimia. Her family is desperate to help her break this cycle and is hoping she will take this lifeline. After relocating to Los Angeles, Troy had a promising future until his recreational crystal methamphetamine usage escalated into a full-blown addiction. While high Troy reports to having had, "hundreds of homosexual encounters.
A young mother, addicted to alcohol and heroin, is in the midst of losing custody of her 5-year-old daughter Sadie, who recently told her "mom, you are a loser." Kristen has now reached the point of no return. Her family has reached out to Intervention as a last hope of saving Kristen
This second "follow-up" episode will allow for a much deeper investigation of life after the intervention, as we revisit some subjects several weeks later to see if their intervention was successful. Included: alcoholic wife and mother Cristine; heroin addict Audrey; and brothers Brooks and Ian, both cocaine addicts.
Antwahn played professional basketball for the Los Angeles Clippers and in Europe for over a decade, but when a serious knee injury ended his career he began to binge on crack-cocaine and ended up on skid row. He's on the verge of destroying himself. Can he be saved by an intervention?
Annie is anorexic and bulimic. Now her fianc?, Kevin, desperately wants an intervention because he's afraid that Annie's eating disorders will kill her. After Amy was sexually molested at 16, she turned to drugs to deal with the pain and ended up living on park benches with her boyfriend. Amy's mother has reached out to Intervention as her last hope.
Chuckie, 28, is the son of a famous musician, and was born into the rock 'n' roll world of the 70's. Surrounded by famous musicians and privilege all his life, he aspired to be an athlete or singer. However, drugs have over-shadowed every moment of Chuckie's life.
Gina is bright, fun-loving, and ambitious, but she's losing a difficult battle with drugs and compulsive gambling. Gina's family feels an intervention is the only way to save her. Andrea is a 30-year-old, divorced, single mother addicted to alcohol, cocaine and marijuana. She says that she loves the party lifestyle and she can't end the cycle of drinking and drugs in which she's immersed herself.
At 33, all John can see is the loss in his life. His mother died when he was 12. This year, he lost his sister, his cousin and his best friend. His only escape from it all is in his addiction to crack and alcohol, an addiction that has already come close to taking his life. His family and friends cannot imagine losing someone else.
We revisit with two of our subjects to see how they've been doing since we first profiled them. Antwahn's family staged an intervention to save him from cocaine, and he went to treatment. But unfortunately, we learn that his story does not end there. And Rachel's continuing battle to stay off heroin has been threatened by her attempts to help her boyfriend get clean.
Tammi, 45, is an alcoholic despite being raised in an upper middle-class family that provided her with a good education and even golf and tennis lessons. Daniel got hooked on meth after becoming a victim of molestation. Now interventions are their only hope.
A high achiever as a young man, Mike developed a life-threatening dependency on speed balling, which involves mixing cocaine and heroin. Only an intervention can save him now that he's lost his marriage, his business, and the custody of his children to drugs. James was a straight-A student until he turned to methamphetamines to cope with his mother's near-fatal illness.
Tim is a talented musician and producer living in Florida who is addicted to crack cocaine. Tim's parents kicked him out of their house previously and refused to participate in the show initially. He lives with his singer-girlfriend Madyson, her parents and younger brother. He's the producer and drummer for her band, but his addiction is risking her chances for a musical career. When he needs crack and doesn't have it, he becomes violently abusive to Madyson and her family. At the intervention, Tim's parents sit in solidarity with Madyson and her family to try to convince Tim to get help.
Betsy seems to have it all. She's beautiful with great friends and a gorgeous house. But Betsy is miserable, and she drinks up to five bottles of chardonnay a day to mask the pain.
Christy is a 24 year old stripper who is an alcoholic meth addict. She lives rent-free in a trashed-out guest house behind her father's rental property. When she doesn't have money for alcohol, she hangs around liquor stores asking men to buy her vodka. Her parents separated when she was nine and she seems to use that as an excuse to live life without any limits. Her only family member who doesn't seem to be enabling her is her half-brother Ryan. She has warrants for her arrest and says she would rather go to jail than get treatment.
Sylvia had four wonderful kids, a strong marriage, and a successful business. But when family tragedies struck, Sylvia looked for solace in the bottle, and today she is a frail, vulnerable, alcoholic. An intervention is her only hope.
A look at two women whose lives have spun out of control. At one time, Laurie was a psychotherapist and mother of three. But then an addiction to pain killers and alcohol led to the loss of her job and her family, and now only an intervention can stop her from losing her life. Jessie is a beautiful young woman who once dreamed of becoming a doctor.
Lauren has known plenty of success in her life. Growing up, she was a cheerleader, a dancer, a swimmer and a great student. After college, she became a high school health and phys-ed teacher, and the students loved her. But amid all the accomplishments, Lauren was hiding a growing problem: an addiction to heroin. In the past three years, Lauren has lost her job and her apartment. She's living with her mother and her moods swing constantly between volatile and depressed. Her family's only hope is an Intervention.
From the outside, Ryan and his family look picture perfect. They live in a beautiful house in an upscale northern California neighborhood. But inside, their world is falling apart. Ryan, once a talented drummer who was awarded a music scholarship to the state university, is addicted to opiates. He injects OxyContin up to 15 times a day. His moods swing wildly from needy to hostile. He enters rehab but is kicked out from not obeying the rules.
Kim is a beautiful 34-year-old make-up artist who grew up a cheerleader and popular. But fearing her good looks and slim figure were deteriorating, Kim turned to bulimia and anorexia. Now Kim's weight issues have taken over her life. She is entrenched in a divorce with her high school sweetheart, who she still loves dearly.
By day, Jacob, 25, is a banker. But most nights, Jacob is drinking, driving and often engaged in barroom brawls. He recently overdosed on alcohol and prescription drugs. His heart stopped and he had to be revived with paddles. Jacob blames his mother -- a drug user and former dealer -- for his addiction. But will he be able to hear her when she pleads for him to get help?
Anthony has been working at the pizzerias owned by his family since he was a kid. A good athlete, colleges offered him baseball scholarships. But at 14, everything changed. His sister died of a heroin overdose and his mother fell into an emotional black hole. Anthony found comfort in cocaine, and today he needs methadone to get him through the day until he can shoot coke at night. His family is not ready to let him hit rock bottom, but Anthony won't get better until his entire family embraces change.
Dillon is 20 and lives with his father in a run-down trailer where he injects methamphetamine every day.
Trent is a four-star chef who has served U.S. presidents and Hollywood stars. He is also addicted to cocaine and heroin.
Jessica, 21, comes from a tight-knit family. Her father, mother, sister and grandfather all work at the family-owned gas station. But Jessica's not allowed to work there any more. Ever since Jessica became addicted to heroin at 17, her family cannot trust her. And even worse--her addiction is straining family relationships. Everyone wants to see her go to treatment, however just organizing the intervention is tearing them apart. Growing up Hubert, now 50, never felt truly loved by his stepfather. And his stepfather admits giving more love and attention to his three biological children. Meanwhile, Hubert protected his brother and sisters from hearing and seeing their parents screaming and hitting one another. Forty years later, it's Hubert's siblings' turn to help him overcome a horrible alcohol addiction that has left him living on the streets of Los Angeles for the past six months.
Laney is an outgoing, intelligent 36-year-old woman who used to have the kind of life other people dream of: a handsome, loving husband, plenty of money and the opportunity to travel the world. Unfortunately, all the wealth and status in the world could not help Laney escape alcoholism.
Growing up, Ashley, 20, was always considered the wild child. While her younger sister was quick to follow the rules and be active in the church, Ashley tended to reject her parents' strong Christian values. The more her parents tried to guide her, the more she pulled away. By her teenage years, Ashley became a chronic runaway and drug addict. Her family sees an intervention as her only hope. But will Ashley take their efforts as a sign of love or another chance to run away?
Not long ago, Andrea, 31, decided to follow in the footsteps of her mother and grandmother and become a nurse. It was a field in which she excelled and was revered by colleagues and friends. But all the while, Andrea was hiding a dark secret a growing crack addiction. Now she¹s lost her job and relies on several male friends to buy her drugs.
Meet Leslie, a Sunday school teacher, PTA member, soccer mom of three and a raging alcoholic. When she can¹t get her hands on vodka or wine, Leslie resorts to economy size bottles of mouthwash. After countless arrests and DUI¹s, her husband is hoping to find help for the mother of his children before it¹s too late. It¹s time for Leslie to choose: her alcohol or her family.
As a timber cutter, Coley has one of the most dangerous jobs in America. But instead of taking serious precautions, he increases his risks every day by snorting crystal meth. Because of his addiction, Coley's business is falling apart. His wife can barely stand to talk to him any more and his reationship with his three young children is deteriorating.
As a child Caylee was an over-achiever from an affluent family. But despite her myriad successes, her mother, Christy, was never satisfied with her. Christy, herself was sexually-abused as a girl, and believes that she has managed her own trauma well. Except she has hidden her bulimia from her family for 35-years.
Pam is a 49-year-old alcoholic who has suffered a string of abusive, failed marriages and horrific molestation as a child. Drinking is her only way to cope. Her frightened family has already lost one sibling to cirrhosis of the liver. Their greatest fear is that Pam will fall to the same fate unless an intervention can save her life.
As a middle child in a large family, Jill always wanted to stand out from the crowd. A natural performer, she excelled at all kinds of dance and quickly became a star performer at school events. Life was good for Jill until, at the age of 15, her parents seemingly happy marriage ended in divorce.
Emily, 26, grew up struggling to meet her parents' high expectations. Despite winning many academic and athletic honors, Emily suffered from depression and low self-esteem, and her shameful feelings intensified when she became a date-rape victim in college. She dieted in hopes of regaining control of her emotions and life, but now she weighs less than 90 pounds.
Dawn, 49, was once a model, but today she's homeless and wanders around town using meth and suffering from the effects of Meth Psychosis. Fabian, 37, was once a successful entertainment entrepreneur, but his escalating addiction has cost him everything. We watch as Fabian's family and Dawn's sons ask interventionists to help save their loved ones.
Jessica, 21, comes from a tight-knit family. Her father, mother, sister and grandfather all work at the family-owned gas station. But Jessica's not allowed to work there any more. Ever since Jessica became addicted to heroin at 17, her family cannot trust her. And even worse--her addiction is straining family relationships.
Brooke, 26, was a beautiful teenager with a magnetic personality. An elite gymnast on the cheerleading squad, she looked forward to a successful and athletic life. But tragedy struck in her senior year when she was crippled by Still's disease, an early form of rheumatoid arthritis. Her doctors prescribed narcotics to ease her pain, but Brooke soon became addicted.
Jason, 23, was born into a strict Southern Baptist family. His father, a preacher, and his unstable mother doled out excessive punishments. But when Jason's mother revealed she's a lesbian, Jason's father was banished from the church and had to take several jobs to feed his family. Left with no supervision, Jason turned to drugs and alcohol. And now his younger sister, Joy, is heading down the same self-destructive path, too. Can a double intervention save them?
Ben, 25, experienced a childhood filled with domestic violence, homelessness and isolation. He never got to fulfill the potential of his 170 I.Q. and found a new way to find comfort when he was in high school--a drug called DXM. Now, Ben spends his days shoplifting, panhandling, and even prostituting himself to finance his drug addiction.
Tressa, 32, attended college on a track and field scholarship and became one of the world's top female shot-putters, earning a spot on the U.S. Olympic team. But Tressa's dreams were shattered when a routine drug test revealed that she had been living a double life as an Olympic hopeful and an IV drug user.
As a former clean-cut track star, John's life used to revolve around athletics. Now, after a leg injury ended his running career, John spends his time abusing his body with alcohol, marijuana, ecstasy and hallucinogenic drugs.
The chaos and bloodshed that Brad witnessed as a young soldier in Iraq, including the death of a close friend, left him emotionally damaged. He now suffers post-traumatic stress disorder and uses alcohol and marijuana to quell the endless nightmares and flashbacks that haunt him. Brad's temper also flares and he's had several incidents of blackout drinking which have led to two car accidents.
Having graduated high school with academic and athletic honors, Lawrence, 34, became a successful owner of a chain of tanning salons. But he was never able to dull the pain of emotional and physical abuse suffered in childhood. Alcohol took hold and Lawrence became a shell of his former self, often drinking a liter of vodka a day. A recent battle with cancer left him further weakened.
Chad, 34, was once a pro-cyclist at the top of his game. After a difficult divorce by his parents and a troubled childhood that sent him to juvenile hall for nine months for felony arson, Chad needed direction. His father introduced him to cycling at age 15, and Chad had a natural gift. Chad went pro almost immediately and cycled on the same team as Lance Armstrong for the US Postal Service.
Dan, 40, lives on a stunning Hawaiian Island. He is the proud father of a beautiful baby girl Ava, and has a loving, devoted wife Sarah. He is a sensitive, insightful man who writes poetry, loves music, and works on a whale watching boat.
She sits in her garage every day, popping painkillers, anti-depressants, anti-psychotics and sleeping pills. Sandra's pill use is so bad that her two sons, 17 and 11, have left the house. Her best friend, Julie, moved in with her, and although Julie suffers from multiple sclerosis, she takes care of all the housework. Julie and Sandra's husband, Dan, ration Sandra's pills so she doesn't overdose.
A talented motocross rider, Charles, 23, is still dealing with terrible childhood memories. When he was seven , his father went to jail for molesting him and his younger brother, and his mother became an alcoholic. Today, he uses heroin and alcohol to blot out his memories, but he's pushed most of his family away.
From the day she was born, Marie was dealt a difficult hand in life. The 49-year-old Sophia Loren look-alike was born into an Italian-mob family in Harlem, New York. When her parents' marriage dissolved, Marie grew up without a father, and she and her mother struggled with extreme poverty. An incredibly smart woman, Marie wanted to go to college.
Growing up in a South Boston neighborhood run by the Irish mob, Tom got caught up in the gangster lifestyle. By his 20s, he was dealing drugs and running with the wiseguys while holding down his day job as a fireman at the Boston Fire Department. Throughout it all, Tom remained a dedicated and loving father to his four children.
Born into a mixed-race family in a predominantly white town, Asa struggled with low self-esteem and body image growing up. Classmates teased him because of his size, ethnicity, and effeminate manner. Desperate to loss weight, Asa became bulimic. He came out as a gay man at 19 and started using hard drugs and drinking heavily.
Thirty-five-year-old Derek was once a health-conscious championship bodybuilder and a successful property owner. He had a beautiful wife and his whole life in front of him. But when he turned 30, Derek felt he was "over the hill" and began to experience severe depression. He started drinking to cope with the pressures of marriage and the responsibilities of getting older.
Allison was a beautiful, gifted pre-med student, well on her way to becoming a surgeon. But despite her academic success, the trauma of being molested as a child and her parents' brutal divorce still haunted her. Allison turned to drugs to cope with her unbearable feelings.
A disturbing look into one small town in northern Alabama where many are struggling with addiction to methamphetamines and other drugs. People offer their stories including Chuck, a father who may lose custody of his children; Boo, who has become aged horribly due to long-time drug use; Shanta, who used the drug while pregnant. Dr. Holley explains her interest in helping the entire town rid the addiction. A special, first-of-its-kind episode of Intervention you can't miss.
A 44-year-old singer and songwriter, Phillip used music to escape the pain of an unstable childhood. He gained fame due to his charisma and musical talents, but Phillip now consumes up to four pints of peppermint schnapps a day. He lost his career, the love of his life, and the respect of his family. Can Phillip break the grip of addiction before he loses the most precious relationship in his life, the one he shares with his 11-year-old daughter?
Mike, 67, was a police sergeant, avid outdoorsman, and respected citizen. But after he was injured while apprehending an addict, signs of Mike's obsessive-compulsive disorder started to emerge. His fear of germs caused him to wash his hands over 40 times a day. The problem forced him to retire early, and his wife divorced him. He was able to keep his OCD under control for eight years, but a relapse caused him to think his food was spoiled, and almost starve. Mike's children feel an intervention is their only hope of helping him. Jenny, 32, is a talented hairstylist from a close-knit Mormon family. When a diagnosis of endometriosis crushes her dreams of having a family, she turns to prescription drugs. Her addiction quickly escalates to IV heroin and meth use. With Jenny on the verge of her next overdose, can her family stop enabling her drug use and get her the help she needs?
An episode of Intervention where former addicts come together for a candid discussion on what has changed since their time on the show. Have they gotten their lives back on tract? How are their relationships? Those participating include Sylvia (Season 2), Michelle (Season 2), Hubert (Season 3), Dillon (Season 3), and Coley (Season 3). Also interviewed the regular interventionists: Jeff, Candy, and Ken. The special is hosted by Chris Lawford.
When Kristen was 3, her parents divorced and soon after her grandparents died, and Kristen somehow felt responsible. Then Kristen's mother married an alcoholic and addict, whose daughter introduced Kristen to drugs. By 15, Kristen was getting high. Currently, Kristen shoots heroin and cocaine, and then stays with her parents to recover. Ridden with guilt, Kristen's mother is desperate to save her only daughter's life.
Ed, 53, and Bettina, 49, had a picture-perfect life, including three adoring kids, a dream home, sports cars, motorcycles, and a respected place in their church community. But six years ago, Ed made a bad career move and ended up unemployed. He and Bettina lost everything they had worked for. They began to drink, and quickly became alcoholics. Ed has been hospitalized for internal bleeding, and Bettina for withdrawals so excruciating she thought she was dying. Their children have begged them to stop drinking but they need an intervention now to help their parents.
At age 6, Janet was molested. She was also bullied by other kids, making her extremely self-conscious about her looks. At 18, she married a drug dealer who made her rich, but her husband was sent to prison, leaving her alone with two sons. She turned to drugs and alcohol, and had multiple affairs. Her husband discovered one of her affairs and divorced her.
After being molested as a child, Nicole developed an unusual eating disorder--she was unable to swallow. By age 16, she weighed just 68 pounds, and doctors inserted a feeding tube into her stomach. The tube was supposed to be temporary, but 16 years later, Nicole still relies on the tube and can't swallow any food or liquids.
Brittany once dreamed of becoming a police officer to protect people from the traumas that she faced as a child. But at 22, her goal is slipping away. She's a heroin addict who sells her body to get her next high. Can Brittany's family convince her that it's not too late to get help?
John has type one diabetes but refuses to be diligent about checking his blood sugar, or taking his insulin. A social misfit and an outcast for many years, John wants to be considered a regular guy, and pretends to be one by eating whatever he wants without regard for his illness. He has been in a near-coma and hospitalized multiple times.
In this follow-up show, we check back in with Tressa and Josh. Tressa's meth addiction destroyed her promising Olympic career. Now eight months sober, she's working hard to stay on the right path and rekindle some of that lost potential. Going home for her mother's wedding, she encounters both the joy and the pain of her old lifestyle.
Once a successful hairstylist, Casie now works in a small-town salon to fuel her $500-a-week meth habit. Casie's childhood was marred by her mother's drug addiction. Suffering from low self-esteem, Casie became bulimic and an addict. She lost her career, her life's savings, and her husband.
From an early age, Anthony's father made him feel worthless. His parents divorced, and his mother remarried, but she was still unhappy and turned to alcohol and drugs. It was little wonder, then, that Anthony began drinking at age 13. Another blow came when Anthony's younger brother died of leukemia.
Lana grew up in a family of 11 children, and her older sister introduced her to drinking at the age of seven. Despite this precarious start, Lana excelled in sports and was active in the church. But at 18, Lana began to enter into dangerous relationships with men and started abusing drugs and alcohol. She was in two near-fatal car accidents.
When Angelina was eight, her family grew apart over an argument about money. Her mother turned to prescription drugs and cocaine to deal with the stress. After graduating from high school, Angelina became her younger brother's legal guardian, but she was overwhelmed by the job of taking care of her brother and addict mother.
Born into a family with traditional Catholic values, Chris struggled with his sexuality until coming out at 18. Now, at 34, Chris feels that being gay has cheated him out of the things he wants most--marriage, children, and inclusion in his family. He drinks first thing in the morning to ward off tremors, he's abusive to his partner, and he can't keep a job.
The face of gambling addiction has changed, dramatically. More women are falling prey to this insidious compulsion. They often sit for hours in front of slot-machines, poker tables, or even online gaming sites--leaving children unattended and piling up staggering debts. This is no longer a game. Many of these women have gone to great lengths to hide their gambling from families, only to hit rock bottom and lose everything. Some even serve time in jail. We will go inside this compulsion, examining the shame and fear that keeps it hidden, and the surprising casualties caught up in the gamble.
A successful business man and college graduate, Nik, 35, is a big family man. But now homeless after an accident, OxyContin became Nik's drug of choice. Now he abuses heroin since it is cheaper and has lost contact with his son and sisters. Tiffany was a basketball star in high school but has seen a violent marriage fall apart through her parents. After she married, her husband was controlling, leaving Tiffany feeling worthless. She drinks to self-medicate. However, she is a dangerous drunk, to herself and others. She has already attempted suicide.
By her late 20's, Sandy had achieved the American Dream. She was married with four beautiful daughters and owned a home she and her husband built themselves. But today, Sandy's life is unrecognizable from what it once was. Her days consist of combining prescription drugs with a pint of vodka, and relying on her daughters to monitor both her diabetes and drinking.
A 51-year-old grandmother, Sharon is a compulsive shopper who has undergone numerous plastic surgeries to feel better about her appearance. She also feels she must hit herself. She has bruises on her thighs and stomach and repeatedly hits her head with a hairbrush. Now things are getting even worse.
When he was three, Gabe's mother abandoned him on the streets of Calcutta, but he was adopted by a young American couple. Gabe seemed happy in America, but he secretly felt like an outsider. In high school he started to rebel and resent his Christian upbringing. He began using marijuana and cocaine, and later graduated to heroin.
Forty-year-old Jeff was once known as a heroic firefighter after he saved his partner's life. But Jeff was traumatized by the harrowing event, and his drinking increased drastically. Jeff has received two DUI's and been rushed to the hospital numerous times for seizures. Jeff's alcoholism has also forced his son and wife to move out.
Identical twins Sonia and Julia, 22, have shared everything in life. From their friends, to their love of film and karate - the girls have been true living mirrors of one another. Their proud parents immigrated to the United States from Poland with dreams to build a better life for their future children, and their dreams came true
Donald is a 38-year-old crack addict from Long Island, New York. When he was five, Donald's parents divorced after his Catholic father refused to accept his mother's conversion to Jehovah's Witnesses. Donald longed for a strong father figure, but his father had little contact with him.
Jason grew up in a seemingly perfect upper-middle class family in Littleton, Col., but he struggled to gain his father's approval. When Jason failed to make the baseball team his freshman year, Jason and his father were devastated. Jason began rollerblading and excelled, but he quit because his father disapproved of the sport.
When she was young, Nikki's mother and grandmother worked hard to give her a good life. Nikki excelled in school, but she was devastated when her grandmother died. She began hanging out with a rebellious crowd, skipping school, and using crack. Nikki eventually had two daughters, but has remained addicted to drugs. Her daughters desperately want to have a relationship with Nikki, and know that an intervention is their only hope of saving their mother's life.
Now 43, Bret once had a promising career in real estate. But the stress to make more money to provide for his family took its toll, and Bret became an alcoholic. Two years ago, Bret's family held an intervention and sent him to rehab programs, but he relapsed. His wife finally divorced him, he lost his job, and he continues to be totally focused on drinking.
Aaron was a mixed martial arts champion, but at the height of his career he started working in porn under the name "Dick Delaware." Through the porn scene, Aaron was introduced to crystal meth. His daily habit took over and he lost both his porn and fighting careers. He now spends his days using drugs and watching porn for hours on end, and his wife is at the end of her rope.
Although she has two loving children and an adoring husband, Danielle is dangerously addicted to Percocet. As a teen, Danielle felt neglected by her alcoholic father and began cutting herself. Now she spends each day hiding behind closed curtains, ignoring her children, and self-medicating with up to 40 Percocet a day.
This follow-up episode features former subjects Chad and Brooke as they rediscover their lives during and after treatment. Chad's crack addiction destroyed his career as a world-class cyclist. Seven months after his intervention, he's been given a chance to redeem himself.
With a terrifying addiction to heroin, Joey's career as a tattoo artist is in jeopardy. His parents divorced when he was three. At 13, Joey started smoking marijuana and soon graduated to ecstasy, LSD, and heroin. When he stole his mother's credit cards, she reluctantly filed charges and he went to jail. He has a daughter now, but the girl's mother is afraid to let Joey be alone with her.
Sebastian, 21, and his brother Marcel, 20, were soccer celebrities in their town at a very young age. Cool and rebellious, Sebastian hung out with older teammates and started doing marijuana, cocaine and meth. Then Marcel got strung out on cocaine, Xanax and OxyContin, and also sold drugs.
At 53, Gloria prides herself on being a good cook and an independent, fun-loving woman. But Gloria uses her cooking and charm to manipulate her family into letting her drink as much as she wants. Gloria had difficulty raising her children, and was married to an abusive man. At 42, Gloria got breast cancer and underwent chemotherapy and radiation but did not stop drinking.
To outsiders, Marci's family life seemed ideal. But while her mother worked, Marci was left home with her alcoholic father. She endured his abuse while her mother looked the other way. Marci began drinking and doing drugs. Her marriage failed, and she lost custody of her children. But her mother still denies that Marci has a bad problem.
This special looks at the gut-wrenching but hopeful stories of three Iraq veterans and their struggles with addiction caused by combat stress. Leia's flashbacks to the terrifying things she saw in Iraq caused her to drink until she connected with a support group of fellow veterans. Paul saw some of the heaviest fighting of the war and turned to alcohol and cocaine when he returned home, but a detox program is helping him to cope and move on. And after Matt was discharged, he had vivid nightmares about being shot or burning, and he started drinking to calm himself down.
Gabe and Allison return to tell their stories after they both faced interventions and treatment. Gabe used heroin to deal with the deep emotional scars caused by his adoption. Will Gabe ever be able to accept his family's love and support? Meanwhile, Allison, who was addicted to inhalants, visits home for the first time to try to make amends to the people she hurt.
Profiling "sober companions" who help former addicts, who are in rehab and living on their own, to help prevent a relapse.
After graduating college, Linda found success working as an extra in Hollywood, achieving the glamorous life she always wanted. But her dreams died when she came down with Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a rare disorder characterized by joint dislocations. Linda started taking fentanyl, a painkiller 100 times stronger than morphine.
Greg once owned a thriving business and was a devoted husband and father. But after a back injury left him disabled, he lost his business, started gambling, and became dependent on pain medication. He also became obsessed with Internet sweepstakes scams, and he has bankrupted his family in a relentless pursuit of big winnings.
Once an effervescent, beautiful young woman, Jennifer was considered a genius by her teachers and was the pride and joy of her parents. But at age 17, Jennifer was involved in a car accident that caused a brain injury and kidney damage. Jennifer survived, but only three days after she left the hospital another family car accident ended in a fatality.
Once a gifted singer/songwriter, Rob was part of a successful band. He loved the rock 'n' roll lifestyle, but he began a long descent into addiction when he turned to drugs and alcohol to fuel his creativity. When his band fell apart--a casualty of his drug use--he was devastated. He lost his siblings' respect and custody of his daughter.
Amy grew up feeling unloved and unable to meet her parents' high expectations. She was also molested by a neighbor when she was eight, but never told anyone in her family. She began to self-mutilate and restrict her diet, and by 17, she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder. Now, Amy eats only 500 calories a day, drinks up to two bottles of vodka a night, and regularly self-mutilates.
Raped when she was 14 and feeling abandoned by her family, Sarah turned to drugs, even becoming a stripper to support her drug habit. She's prohibited by the courts from seeing her three-year-old son, and now lives with a man who is more than twice her age and manages a massage parlor. Can an intervention save her from her self-destructive lifestyle?
Once known as the "the prettiest girl in town," Jackie had a promising career as a radiation therapist. She became a wealthy doctor's wife, a country club member, and a proud mother. But Jackie was haunted by childhood traumas. She was devastated when her father died when she was 13.
When Vinnie was a boy, his father abused him physically and verbally, leaving his mother feeling helpless. He developed a love for fast-paced sports, including BMX, motocross, and car racing, but his need for speed turned into an addiction to crack cocaine. Now, Vinnie lives in his car with his dog and smokes up to $1,000 worth of crack a week.
When Robby's mother discovered his talent for music, she became a classic stage mother and relentlessly pushed him. Robby formed a group which became an instant success, even earning a Grammy nomination. But Robby indulged in the excesses of fame and fortune, and became an alcoholic. The group fell apart, and Robby became deeply depressed.
They're cheap, easy to get and legal. They're also deadly. But that's not stopping teenagers and young adults from using chemical inhalants to get high. Hundreds of everyday products--household cleaners, disinfectants, computer dusters--contain chemicals that when breathed in give a powerful five-second high. It's called huffing and studies show that over two million kids nationwide are doing it. We'll take a powerful look at the trend and how it is shocking parents and destroying young lives.
Working as a fitness instructor at the most elite gyms and partying on the club circuit at night, Marquel seems to have the perfect life. But her family sees her exercise regime as obsessive-compulsive, and they watch her binge-drinking episodes end up in hospitalizations. They believe she is an exercise addict, bulimic, and alcoholic, and they have turned to interventionist Candy for help.
Although she has a blood clot in her brain that makes drinking dangerous, Kristine is an alcoholic. But she doesn't believe her condition is a reason to quit because she recently learned that she may have leukemia. Now she figures she may as well keep drinking because the leukemia might kill her anyway.
A talented cellist and an aspiring music producer, Shane's musical aspirations are now out of reach because he abuses prescription drugs and deals drugs out of his grandmother's house. After injuring his neck in a car accident, he began abusing OxyContin. His father was a drug addict, too, who died from an overdose.
A former featherweight world champion who was discovered by Muhammad Ali, Rocky is still called "the champ" by locals. But the success, pressure, and excesses of the boxing lifestyle proved too much for him, and he turned to drugs and alcohol. He lost everything--his marriage, his sons, his wealth, and his title.
Ashley was raised by a mother who was addicted to methamphetamines and gambling. Ashley flourished when her aunt and uncle became her legal guardians, but she started using heroin when her beloved grandfather died.
Amy and her family escaped the violence of apartheid-era South Africa and immigrated to Canada 22 years ago. But Amy suffered from anxiety and low self-esteem, and she became anorexic and, soon after, bulimic. Now she lives alone in the basement of her family's house and steals from family members to pay for her eating binges. Weighing only 92 pounds, Amy is on the brink of death.
A gifted mechanic, Tyler, 26, worked in the family business with his brother, Zach, and his sister, Ashley. Their father built the business to provide his children with a wonderful life. But the family's dreams turned to tragedy when Tyler found both Zach and Ashley dead from drug overdoses. Unable to cope with his loss, Tyler now fills his days with drugs and alcohol.
Now 53, Richard has kept a traumatic childhood event secret all his life. As early as age 11, he used alcohol to numb the emotional pain. As an adult, he was diagnosed with diabetes, and his health problems were exacerbated by his drug and alcohol abuse. He was able to keep his addictions in check while he and his wife, Sandy, raised two children.
Every day, Donna, 47, and her son, Josh, 20, cause a storm of drinking, fighting, and chaos in the overcrowded home they share with Donna's sister, mother, and a stable-full of dogs and cats. Raised by alcoholic parents, Donna was exposed to violence and abuse at an early age, and later drank so heavily that she lost custody of her two children.
Adam was once one of top skiers in the United States. As a Marine, he served in 15 countries, including Iraq and Afghanistan on terrorist-related missions. But when he came back home from overseas, he was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and started drinking. His alcohol abuse is ruining his body.
Attractive, charismatic 41year-old twins, Susie and Miriam, battle crack and alcohol addictions and each other as their career success and families slowly slip away.
Once bright, likable, and athletic, Andrew has become a gaunt, menacing OxyContin addict. As a child, Andrew learned to manipulate his father, Dan, who now admits, "I can't stand up to Andrew. He'll threaten to commit crimes and trash our motel room. I'd rather give him money for a pill than have him out robbing innocent people.
When Amber was molested as a young child, she bottled up her emotions. She began binge eating, and became bulimic because she wanted to be popular and beautiful like her older sister. After high school, Amber had a baby and married, and managed to look like she was living an idyllic family life. But she was actually depressed, drinking heavily, and purging regularly.
Once a Hollywood success story, Lorna is now a crack addict. She danced on Soul Train and for the "Ike and Tina Turner Revue" in Las Vegas, then landed a big job at A&M records. But the music industry party scene led to drug addiction, and she even abandoned her three children. Lorna needs to get clean and make amends with her kids before it's too late.
Though he grew up in a close-knit family, Joe has felt lonely and isolated all his life. As a child, he was tormented by neighborhood boys, and his father viewed him as a failure. At age 8, Joe learned "the choking game," in which a person uses his hands to cut off the oxygen supply to his brain to get high.
John is a flight attendant who loves his job, but his lifestyle is fueling his alcoholism. When he was a boy, John's parents focused their attention on his "profoundly retarded" brother. His mother blamed herself for the disability and turned her anger towards John. Now John's alcoholism leaves him prone to blackouts.
When Jason's mother and stepfather had twins, Jason felt abandoned. He dropped out of school and turned to drugs. Now he lives with his grandmother in a retirement community and takes up to 30 mgs. of Xanax and shoots heroin up to five times a day. After an overdose, Jason had multiple hospitalizations and four grand mal seizures.
A drug addict living on the streets, Rachel uses her "street kid" lifestyle to defy society and her father, with whom she's had a strained relationship since her parents' divorce. Rachel started experimenting with cocaine and meth at 14, and using heroin at 16.
Once a football player with a bright future, Darick dropped out of school to get married when his girlfriend got pregnant. Darick loved being a father, but when his marriage ended, Darick learned his daughter was not his biological child, and he was denied all contact with her.
Michelle, a lesbian, was abandoned by her father at age three, molested by a stranger at five, and ridiculed in middle school for her skin color. The love of her life left her when she decided to become a man. Now Michelle is struggling with heroin and desperately needs an intervention. When Austin's stepfather died from alcoholism, he turned to alcohol himself to numb the pain. His girlfriend is now pregnant, and he's doing as much partying as he can before his child is born. Austin needs an intervention to become a sober dad and break his family's cycle of alcoholism.
Erin is a strong-willed Texan who relies on her good looks to get what she wants, which is meth. Erin got tired of being a mother and wife and began a drug-induced party lifestyle. Now Erin's marriage is in pieces and her daughter has been sent to live with relatives. Can an intervention tame this wild Texas girl?
A heroin addict, Jimmy was raised by an alcoholic father. He joined a gang at 13 and was soon on drugs. The birth of Jimmy's son prompted him to try to get clean, but when things got tough with his new family, he began abusing methadone. Now Jimmy's addiction has him close to death.
Cassie, 22, is a crack and oxycodone addict who was abandoned by her mother and raised by her father and his string of wives. At 13, she was sent to an overseas behavior modification school that offered her little more than imprisonment and abuse.
As a youngster, Jimbo was humiliated when his mother had an affair. After a knee injury, Jimbo was prescribed painkillers, which numbed both his physical pain and his anger. He now spends his days snorting drugs and flying into rages that have terrorized his family and community. Can an intervention stop this small-town menace?
Jenna enjoys caring for abandoned animals because of her own traumatic childhood. When she was four she and her siblings moved in with a very strict step father who believed in corporal punishment. Now Jenna steals and deals drugs to support her IV heroin habit. Can Jenna and her siblings overcome their past to work together as a family and get Jenna into treatment?
An ambitious inventor and entrepreneur, Benny once dreamed of becoming a millionaire. But stress, drugs, and alcohol have turned his dream into a nightmare. Worst of all, he is no longer a dependable father to his six-year-old daughter. Benny, now 38 and living with his mother, has seen his relationship with his family reach the breaking point, and only an intervention can save him now.
Once happy-go-lucky, Megan, 25, is now a volatile drug addict who scares her family with her unchecked anger. A child of neglect, Megan is now enabled and financed by her guilt-ridden mother. She spends her days drinking and smoking crack. How will Megan react when confronted by her family in an intervention they believe is needed to save her life?
At a teen, Jamie did drugs and abused alcohol to deal with her traumatic upbringing. At 21, she turned to the church and got sober, but then the fatal overdose of her twin sister triggered a relapse. Now Jamie suffers from alcohol-induced pancreatitis and has suicidal tendencies.
Tiffany is a 19-year-old, doe-eyed, innocent looking young woman who shuns motherhood to trek to the seediest parts of Baltimore to score heroin while her family tries to pray the devil out of her.
A talkative, eccentric, antiques collector, Michael, 52, was a military brat who moved with his family all over Europe and the U.S. But what he really wanted was a stable, loving home. After a series of traumatic events, Michael began to do drugs, and now he's a rambling, self-loathing addict. Even worse, his two sons have become his using buddies.
We go to the Nexus Recovery Center in Dallas, Tex., to follow the gripping stories of four women who are struggling with both addiction and motherhood.
Scioto County, Ohio, is on the DEA list of top 10 places for prescription pill trafficking. The county has seen a 360 percent increase in fatal drug overdoses, with nine of every 10 of those deaths attributable to prescription painkillers. Dealers gets their pills from "pill mills," cash-only clinics that dispense prescription painkillers in mass quantities. We show how prescription drugs, especially "Hillbilly Heroin," the street name for Oxycodone, are devastating the region, and take viewers inside the pill mills with undercover cameras to expose the deadly business.
Heroin abuse in Chicago, especially along a specific area of the Eisenhower Expressway, is examined by focusing on the stories of four people struggling with addiction. Learn how "Heroin Highway" came to be and how people like Kesha, who is newly sober, are trying to pick up the pieces of their lives wrecked by heroin. You will also meet Josh, a man checking into detox yet again to fight his addition, and Matt, who hopes to stay clean while waiting for a bed in a halfway house.
Brittany once dreamed of becoming a police officer to protect people from the traumas that she faced as a child. But at 22, her goal is slipping away. She's a heroin addict who sells her body to get her next high. Can Brittany's family convince her that it's not too late to get help?
Like Romeo and Juliet on heroin, Mikeal and Sarah are a poor boy and a rich girl who have found sanctuary in each other's pain. Sarah's family feels that Mikeal has corrupted their daughter, taking Sarah from a casual pill abuser to a full-blown heroin addict. But now both families now agree that an intervention is their only hope.
Eddie, an All-American baseball player in college with offers to play in the majors, was pursuing two master's degrees but school pressure and his father's overbearing expectations pushed Eddie to drink and gamble heavily. His addictions have left him divorced, homeless, and in legal trouble due to five DUI charges.
A mother of three, Latisha will go to any lengths to feed her crack addiction, including prostitution. Having been abandoned by her own parents because of their addictions, she's happy with her life and just wants her family to get off her back, but the needs of her young daughter Tuesday are going unmet. There's only one way to save Latisha from her herself--an intervention.
Growing up with parents who demanded hard work, Larry rebelled with a life of crime. Today, he drinks a fifth of brandy a day even though he's a spiritual man whose religion prohibits alcohol. Megan is struggling with her own demons. Her mother divorced and remarried, but Megan never felt included in her new family. She became an addict and even turned to prostitution to pay for her drugs.
Living in a small Hawaiian village, Penny-Lee has an infectious laugh and loves to have fun. But despite having a good family life and four children to be proud of, she's an out-of-control alcoholic who spends most of her time alone, screaming and crying out to no one as she downs beer after beer. An intervention is her family's last hope for their beloved family matriarch.
Luke, 23, dreams of a career in photojournalism, but his daily cocktail of drugs has derailed his college plans and left both he and his mother struggling to survive on the streets of San Francisco. Shantel uses OxyContin to cope with learning and mood disorders and to find friends in the drug culture.
Tiffany, 24, a former athlete and cheerleader who dreamed of a career in the medical field, has no intention of giving up her IV crystal meth addiction, despite the fact that her four-year-old son is being cared for by her family. Can an intervention help Tiffany to regain her son and her life?
Brittney saw her food addiction transformed into a raging alcohol addiction after gastric bypass surgery. Now she stands to lose her family as they grow weary of her alcohol-fueled antics. Ricardo, is a dedicated dad of three on weekends, but suffers from a daily addiction to meth which threatens to destroy his health, professional success, and relationship with his children.
Michelle, 30, looks like an aging mother of two who takes a daily concoction of methadone, Xanax, and blood pressure pills to keep her identity as an edgy party girl alive, while her family begs her to wake up to the harm that her addiction has caused them. Now the family has had enough, and they're finally ready to confront Michelle at an intervention.
A college graduate who now works as a genealogist, Jeff can't give up his 30-cans-of-beer-per-day habit even though his health is failing, he recently lost his wife, and his children are struggling to cope with the loss of their mother. Now Jeff faces a choice--his life or his beer. Can an intervention bring him to his senses?
Jeanna conquered generations of addiction until the murder of her four-year-old son sent her spiraling into a $100-a-day meth addiction. An intervention is the only way to help Jeanna start to heal her troubled soul.
Growing up, Christina had to shuttle back and forth between her drug-addicted mother and neglectful father. Having never received the support she desperately craved, Christina turned to drugs at an early age. Now prescription painkillers and meth have taken over her life, and she's repeated her mother's mistake by losing custody of her son.
Strikingly beautiful with a great sense of humor, Dallas is nevertheless addicted to heroin and lives on the streets. After her mother attempted suicide, Dallas turned to drugs to deal with the confusion and pain. But Dallas's mother is in denial about her addiction and supports her "heroin-chic" lifestyle. Dallas's family needs a wake-up call and face her problems head-on.
A 34-year-old gay man, Richard grew up in a small town where being gay was unacceptable. His stepfather even beat him regularly for his effeminate behavior. Today, Richard is homeless and prostituting himself to pay for his crystal meth addiction. Richard's family will have to finally show him acceptance if they're to get through to him and save his life.
To the outside world, Kimberly lives a dream life in an extravagant mansion without a financial care in the world. But the "dream" is really a nightmare because Kimberly, an alcoholic, is being "kept" a prisoner by her boyfriend, who has locked her in a closet in a misguided attempt to stop her from drinking.
Once a supermom who took her kids to soccer practice and kept a spotless home, Suzon's life spiraled out of control. Now she lives with her new boyfriend, collects scrap metal, and sells prescription drugs to pay for crack. Suzon needs an intervention, but her mother threatens to hijack the process with her old resentments. Can mom put aside her agenda and help save her daughter?
Neglected as a child by her alcoholic mother, Dorothy is now lost in a haze of drugs, alcohol, and self-inflicted cuts and burns. Ivan was once a rising rap star who got caught up in the "thug life" and PCP addiction. Both need interventions to reclaim the promise of their youth and talent.
Once a successful, outstanding student, Zeinah turned to drugs to deal with the drama-filled divorce between her Christian mother and Muslim father. After her husband overdosed, her drug use increased, and she lost custody of her daughter. Can Zeinah's family forget their grudges and religious differences to come together and save her from her prescription pill death spiral?
When Skyler was a kid, his mother pushed him to do modeling and TV work, but the tension drove Skyler to drugs. Now he uses the new synthetic drug "bath salts," which cause him to hallucinate. Jessa's meth and alcohol addiction have caused her to hole up in the her parents' basement, drinking and using drugs until she blacks out, punches walls, and even attempts suicide.
Now 40, Julie has often turned to food and alcohol to find comfort in tough times. She had gastric bypass surgery when her weight ballooned, but now she spends her son's child support money on beer and 90-proof peppermint schnapps. She has a failing liver and constant blackouts, often waking up in strangers' beds. Julie needs an intervention before she loses her family--and her life.
Nicknamed the "junkie princess" by her drug-abusing friends, Courtney, 20, injects heroin up to eight times a day and prostitutes herself to finance her own and her boyfriend's addiction. But now Courtney's mother, sister, and grandmother are planning an intervention in one last-ditch attempt to convince her to leave her boyfriend and accept treatment.
A gregarious man with an intense personality, 32 year-old Sean's alcohol addiction is causing him to blackout and suffer seizures, which have his wife and family on edge
As a child, Kaylene was physically abused by her father. Later, she and her mother began using coke together. Now Kaylene is a 21-year-old who oozes sweetness and charm but who is unafraid to die and will stop at nothing to get her next fix. After so many years of neglect, can Kaylene's family finally step up and help her get the live-saving treatment she so desperately needs?
Once a stunning model and devoted mother, Terry binges on vodka every day to escape her mother's taunts and her father's neglect. She ignores her doctor's warning that she will be dead in six months if she doesn't stop drinking. Leon, a 25-year-old Russian-Jewish immigrant and former cello prodigy, smokes PCP to escape from the feelings of disappointment and failure that plague him. Both Terry and Leon have one last chance--an intervention.
Nicole, 25, has constant tremors due to a severe alcohol addiction as she struggles to overcome the pain of her sister's betrayal.
Elena, 63, has no intentions of stopping her daily IV meth addiction, even though her children and grandchildren desperately want their adoring grandmother to get well.
Twenty-five year-old Katie uses her eating disorder and binge drinking to cope with her mother's secret alcoholism and parents war with each other while her worried siblings pray someone can step in and save them all.
Once a big-hearted Christian family man, Dennis uses his meth and alcohol addiction to run from the past that haunts him, while his family falls apart.
Former "Super Mom" to her three children, Diana has exchanged her apron for an alcohol and meth addiction and is unraveling her marriage, family and sense of self-respect.
A family begging her to get help and two overdoses in the last two weeks don't phase 21-year-old Britney as she fearlessly shoots up suboxone and bath salts up to 30 times a day.
Thirty-one year-old Amanda has exchanged her dreams of teaching for an alcohol and crack addiction, while her family erupts in anger over her dad's chronic enabling.
Attractive, charismatic 41year-old twins, Susie and Miriam, battle crack and alcohol addictions and each other as their career success and families slowly slip away.
Ryan, 25, is a sweet, sensitive man whose alcohol addiction is spiraling out of control as he and his fianc e are expecting their first child in a matter of months.
Loud and spunky 50 year-old Cher's alcohol addiction has led to liver damage and is driving a wedge between herself and her family.
Al, a big guy with a big personality, is sacrificing his relationships with his wife and children to chase his out-of-control meth and painkiller addiction.
Megan is a 24-year-old addict who turned to drugs to kill the excruciating pain she experienced as a young teen after her innocence was stolen by her mother's boyfriend.
Kelly, a 27-year-old mother of three, mixes pills and meth to forget the man behind bars who destroyed her childhood. Can Kelly's family come together to help her face the painful past that consumes her?
Nick, 23, uses his business talents to deal in heroin rather than business.
Sandi, 64, is a vivacious, spunky and fun grandmother who loves gardening. But as her drinking escalates throughout the day, Sandi turns her gin-fueled anger on her 88-year-old mother and her 45-year-old daughter, alienating everyone in her wake.
Charismatic businessman, spiritual leader and father, 56-year-old Terry is destroying his legacy with his crack addiction and taking his adoring son down with him. Alissa, 19 is a smart and fearless teenager who uses bath salts to mask her inner pain.
When her rock and best friend, her grandmother Elena, went away to treatment, Sarah, 21, spiraled out of control. Today, in denial of her own addiction, Sarah is on the same path of addiction her grandmother was on just six months ago.
Tiffany is a 19-year-old, doe-eyed, innocent looking young woman who shuns motherhood to trek to the seediest parts of Baltimore to score heroin while her family tries to pray the devil out of her.
A gregarious man with an intense personality, 32 year-old Sean's alcohol addiction is causing him to blackout and suffer seizures, which have his wife and family on edge.
In an Intervention first that reveals a surprising outcome, we reach out to 18-year-old Andrew who once dreamed of a military career, but now binges and purges up to 12 times a day.
Jessica is smart as tack with a lust for life. Unfortunately, it's the life of a heroin addict, living in an abandoned building, being shot up by a boyfriend, that she is committed to.
Once a vibrant supermom, Dana numbs the haunting memories of almost dying in an apartment fire with a dangerous cocktail of crack and prescription pills.
As a teenager, Ryan was on the fast track to professional BMX racing until his mother's suicide attempt sidelined his life. Ryan turned to drugs to deal with the trauma and silence around it.
Gina has spent her life living in the shadow of her domineering Korean mother, and it was not until she started using heroin that she was able to escape the most painful of her memories, being blamed by her mother for having been raped.
Eric, 31, has been known by his family for being funny, generous and full of life. But his downward spiral into addiction has replaced all of his amazing traits and turned him into a junkie who hustles, steals and pawns.
As a child, Tammy, 26, was forced to look after her younger sisters when her parents would disappear for days on drug binges. A daddy's girl, she has followed in her father's footsteps, spending her days in crack houses, where she regularly descends into a world of drugs and danger. After protecting her little sisters from the hell that was their life, they have now come together in a heartbreaking attempt to save hers.
At the age of 16, Holley witnessed her mother cheating on the father she adored. The strain between mother and daughter never eased and Holley, now 28, acted out through raging alcohol and cocaine abuse. An important member of a loving extended family, Holley's relatives watched in horror as she gave birth to and raised three children in the dangerous fog of addiction. Her family must now act -- to save the children from their mother, and their mother from almost certain death.
Born addicted to opiates, Aimee, 25, is caught in the same cycle of addiction that took her mother's life when Aimee was a little girl. Suffering through a childhood of neglect and a string of abusive boyfriends, Aimee's feelings of worthlessness have led her to a serious fentanyl addiction and a life on the street soliciting men to pay for her habit. Her father, who lives in fear that he will have to bury his daughter as he did her mother, makes one final desperate bid to save her life.
A man begins to spiral into addiction after his surrogate father figure is killed in a car accident.
After being raised by a single mother who struggled with addiction, a 23 year old mother becomes addicted to cocaine and opiates.
A 38 year-old woman alternates between being a wife and mother and a rock singer who is addicted to crack cocaine.
Jessica is a self-proclaimed party girl with a serious addiction to heroin. Having never dealt with the sexual abuse she suffered as a child, Jessica has been partying since she was 14. Now 22, she spends her days on methadone to stave off withdrawals, and nights injecting heroin, smoking crack and partying with men twice her age. With an alcoholic but well-meaning father who is unable to let his little girl go, and a mother who spoils her rotten, this family needs a serious wake-up call before they lose Jessica forever.
Raised by an alcoholic single mother, Travis, 20, and his sister were moved around the country after their abusive father left the household. When Travis was 15, his sister, with whom he had a strong bond, was gang raped at a party. A year later, he discovered her hanging by the neck in their home. Racked with guilt and devastated by the loss, Travis has spiraled out of control in a ceaseless sea of partying, gambling and alcohol. His mother, several years sober but clearly still suffering from her loss, now fights to save her only remaining child.
A young woman, with a traumatic past, turns to alcohol to numb her pain, and winds up with seizures, blackouts and severe mood swings.
Wes and Lise have been together since their teens. Both products of traumatic childhoods, they bonded over a mutual interest in marijuana and other recreational drugs. But they were functional, with Wes earning money as a roofer to keep their two young sons in food and shelter. When, at age 30, Wes discovered crack and brought it home to Lise, their happy home turned to chaos. Hopelessly ensnared by their addictions, the couple's focus shifted from caring for their children to finding and using that next rock. Deeply concerned for the children's welfare, Wes's sister Carrie makes one last attempt to save the family.
Pain from dancing in a strip club leads a woman to become addicted to alcohol and opiates.
A sensitive, artistic boy grows up with alcoholic parents and winds up addicted to crystal meth and GHB as an adult.
A woman who was a talented dancer as a child becomes addicted to Oxycontin after her father commits suicide.
After falling in with the wrong crowd at a young age, a man becomes addicted to crack and is estranged from his family.
A woman loses custody of her three children after spiraling into a dangerous dependence on hydromorphone, speed, cocaine and morphine.
A young musician becomes addicted to heroin after experiencing a tortured childhood and life on the streets.
An intelligent young woman alienates herself in order to protect her dangerous addiction to opiates.
At 27, Wesley is a veteran of crystal meth use. He has been using since he was 17, and has been dealing meth and other drugs for most of his 20's. He goes days without sleep, and lives a lifestyle that is one long party. Consumed by guilt over the death of his best friend on crystal meth when Wes was 17, and devastated by the loss of his father whose funeral he couldn't even attend because of a stretch in jail, Wes has chosen to make a living off the drug that has made his life a nightmare. Knowing he is one bad choice away from a decision that could end his life, Wes's family intervene in an attempt to get their son back.
David, 32, has barely known a life that didn't include addiction. His mother was a cocaine addict and his father, who struggled with alcoholism, died at an early age when David was a child. Once a provincial Taekwondo champion, family tragedy, including the death of his stepfather by overdose, has led David to a dangerous addiction to heroin and crystal meth. While his mother and much of his family have been in recovery for years, without an intervention, David is destined to be the next family casualty.
Suffering from a severe eating disorder, depression and suicidal tendencies, Cassandra is a young woman who has lost her way. Growing up, she felt out of control and neglected - constantly left alone while her parents' volatile relationship slowly disintegrated. Bullied by her peers for being 'chunky', Cassie struggled in school as well. Depressed and angry, she began bingeing and purging in an effort to control her body and her environment. Now, at 18, Cassie purges up to 15 times a day and takes anywhere from 10 to 30 laxatives. Close to death, Cassandra needs a lifeline before her family loses their young daughter to this dangerous disease.
With four children, a long career working for a ferry company in British Columbia, and a successful import/export business, John, 50, had it all. Five years ago, exhausted from the stress of a failing marriage and juggling two careers, he smoked crack cocaine for the first time and watched his world begin to fall apart. Now also addicted to heroin, John lives mostly on the street, while his family live in fear of the phone call that will deliver their worst nightmare. Devastated by the loss of the man that was once the lifeblood of their family, John's mother, sister and grown sons attempt to pull John out of the abyss of his addictions.
Brad, 50, lives in a converted tractor-trailer and sells scrap metal for cash. He is also severely addicted to crack. Growing up in a rural town in New Brunswick, Brad was extremely skilled with his hands, and ended up constructing the home he lived in with his ex-wife. After moving to Ontario and starting a family, his life took a dangerous turn. Brad was badly electrocuted on a routine job cutting down a tree. The injury was life changing, and Brad lost everything. Defeated, he turned to crack cocaine. Brad has been smoking crack for the past 20 years and his daughter, now 26 and starting a life of her own, is fighting to get him back.
A woman who was once an elite Irish dancer resists her family's efforts to save her from a life of cocaine and heroin addiction.
A family man's happy life takes a dark turn after he turns to alcohol to cope with the tragic deaths of two siblings; a woman who was forced to care for her father at a young age becomes a drug addict.
24-year-old Samantha was a soccer prodigy at age 12, but when a close relative developed an inappropriate relationship with her 12-year-old teammate, it crushed her and her family. Soon afterwards, Samantha was sexually assaulted and introduced to drugs, triggering a downward spiral that led her to heroin and prostitution. After years of substance abuse, her anguished family's last hope is that an intervention can give Samantha the push she needs to put her dangerous drug use and lifestyle behind her once and for all.
While still a child, Zach's father was incarcerated, and Zach and his sister were adopted by their loving grandparents. When Zach's father was released from jail he moved in with the grandparents, hoping for a fresh start. It didn't take long for his father to fall off the wagon, and in fact, it was Zach's father who first introduced Zach to heroin. Using, but still functional, Zach met his girlfriend Whitney, and two years ago, she had their son. Today Zach's cocaine and heroin addiction is out of control. Whitney has turned to Intervention for help. Theresa swore she wouldn't end up like her mother who was a raging alcoholic. However, years later after several failed relationships and children, Theresa finds herself drinking uncontrollably--to the point that even cirrhosis of the liver isn't enough to make her stop. Her daughter says she's at rock bottom, close to death, and her family knows that an intervention is their last hope.
27-year-old Daniel could have pursued a career as an artist and songwriter, but a series of personal tragedies--culminating in his father's death--led him to abuse a dangerous combination of alcohol and meth. His daily consumption has not only destroyed his artistic ambitions, it's alienated him from his family and friends. Daniel's family is certain that if he doesn't get help soon, he will die. Daniel's mother, the only family member who still regularly associates with him, pays for Daniel to live in a week-to-week motel room to keep him off the streets. Recently, Daniel resumed a romantic relationship with Sarah, a fellow addict who supplies Daniel with alcohol, and their booze-fueled nights escalate Daniel's already serious addiction to deadly lows. Now in a last ditch effort, his family comes together for an intervention.
As a child, Sam was bright, artistic and outgoing. But when she was six, her life took a drastic change when her parents divorced and her father remarried and moved away. Then at 14, Sam's life changed forever when she was sexually assaulted. Counseling and prescription medication helped her for a while, but eventually Sam stopped taking the medication and turned to a life of partying, fueled by alcohol and Ecstasy. A fast downward spiral into heroin followed and today Sam is a full-blown addict. Her family is hoping an intervention will lead to treatment.
Suffering post-traumatic stress after being molested as a child, Mindie developed a drug habit in her teens that gave way to full-on meth addiction in her 20s. Her sister-in-law recently passed away from an overdose and her struggling family is intervening to prevent her from suffering the same fate. Katherine got hooked on pain pills after a botched epidural during the birth of her 2nd child. Now she's addicted to meth and lost her home and custody of her kids. Her parents are desperate to get her sober before she causes them to go broke--or causes harm to herself.
A talented singer-songwriter, Bryceton's addiction to alcohol and spice (synthetic marijuana) is completely out of control. His wife struggles to raise their son while coping with Bryceton's erratic behavior, but she's fighting a losing battle. The rest of his family tries to help, but their efforts are only met with outbursts and anger.
Hailing from a small seaside town in Nova Scotia, Barry, 50, was born into a life of alcoholism and turmoil. The victim of childhood abuse at the hands of a close relative, Barry learned to drink with his alcoholic mother as a boy. Both were seeking a way to kill the pain. A gentle giant when sober, but violent and verbally abusive when spiraling on 40 ounces of vodka a day, Barry has alienated just about everyone in his life, including his father, whom he adores, and his 27-year-old son who has cut off all contact. Living day-to-day in run-down motels and struggling to put together a living between binges, Barry has a chance to reclaim his life, his family, and a relationship with his son who has shut him out of his life.
An Alberta prairie boy, Kent, 37, watched his father come home every day to a case of beer. Good at hockey, Kent's life took a turn when a hereditary blood disease stopped him in his tracks. To fill the void, and to block out the untreated trauma of a sexual assault, Kent turned to a 17-beer-a-day habit. Now the home he shares with his girlfriend, Nicki, and their three children is a battleground of verbal abuse and shame. Nicki gives Kent a final ultimatum: clean up or lose your family for good.
From the outside, Conrad, 20, leads a picture-perfect life. He lives in his parent's lakeside home in Huntsville, Ontario, while they cater to his every need. Unfortunately, this family's reality is far from ideal. Conrad was alienated when he was young because of ADHD and tourettes, and instead of friends, used extreme sports to fill the void. As he got older and the adrenaline wore off, Conrad turned to Oxycodone as his escape. Now, dependent on pills and full of rage, Conrad battles with his parents in a house that's slowly suffocating them all. Afraid for their son and trying desperately to hold onto their own relationship, Conrad's parents finally deliver the ultimatum that might save his life.
Tracy, 48, was born into a family rampant with alcoholism and abuse. With little parental oversight, she tried her first beer at the age of 11, and loved the feeling from the first sip. Although she excelled in gymnastics and other school endeavors, the seed of her undoing had been sown. When she hooked up with the father of her three children, Tracy fell heavily into a pattern of drinking and domestic chaos. After repeated visits to her home by police, her girls were put into foster homes where they watched from afar as their mother slowly imploded. Though deeply hurt by their mother putting alcohol before them, Tracy's daughters set their resentment aside and make one last attempt to save the mother they never had.
David, 29, is nothing less than a miracle. At the age of 18 he contracted leukemia and underwent a dangerous bone marrow transplant that he survived. Prescribed painkillers to cope with his treatment, David became addicted and now, a decade later, consumes massive amounts of Oxycodone. He uses up to 1200 mg a day, which he injects or snorts. Trading one kind of sick for another, David's erratic, angry and manipulative behavior has cost him every friend he ever had. His lonely existence is punctuated only by the presence of his mother, and the ever-present need to secure more oxy. Having fought the battle to save his life from cancer, David now is watching his addiction take it away.
A difficult relationship with his parents led Matthew to experiment with drugs. But when a drug test came back positive, he lost custody of his son and went from part-time user to full-blown addict.
Amanda is thrown into a tailspin when her husband went missing for months. When his body was finally found, she went off the deep end and found escape in drugs.
The son and nephew of Major League Baseball stars, David struggled not only with being compared to his athletic family, but also with his own sexuality. Acting out turned to alcoholism and meth addiction - and it wasn't long before David found himself dumpster diving and sleeping behind stores in his family's upscale neighborhood.
Erin spent her teens and twenties as an A-list rock-n-roll groupie, but a prescription to relieve neck pain got her hooked on Dilaudid. Now her mother raises her 5-year-old son while Erin prostitutes herself to maintain a $1700-a-week habit. At the age of 14, Joshua was badly beaten by his girlfriend's father - two years later, he was molested by the leader of his youth group. He turned to heroin to cope with his traumas - and now he lives in a car, running scams and panhandling to support his addiction.
Carrie was a young boxer with a shot at going pro, but losing an important fight triggered the trauma of being deserted by her father and she turned to drugs to cope. Now Carrie's boxing career is on hold, she's living on the streets and hustling for her next fix.
The black sheep of a successful family, Justin got hooked on prescription opiates after he was run over by a truck. After his mother died, Kayne turned to drugs to cope, which eventually cost him his marriage and the custody of his children.
Musically gifted, intelligent and beautiful, everyone assumed Kaeleen was destined for great things.
The daughter of a small business owner, Sierra was an honor student with dreams of college and a career in journalism.
A successful businesswoman who became a multimillionaire in her 20s, Kacy tragically lost her infant child to SIDS. She then lost her fortune, her marriage and a healthy relationship with her surviving children as she spiraled into binge drinking. Now penniless, she is hospitalized multiple times a month, and her family is desperate to save her life. Candy Finnigan is Kacy's Interventionist.
Digger and Anne are husband and wife - and both are addicted to heroin. Intervening on addicted couples is incredibly difficult; and Digger and Anne's situation is complicated further by other addicts in the family. Their three young children are in danger of losing both parents if the couple does not get help soon.
Karissa was always a talented cook - so much so, that her mother had one day hoped to pass the family diner down to her as a legacy. But Karissa's life took a drastic turn when a close family friend fed her Oxycodone, and then ultimately made her a drug courier. From there Karissa was lost. Now, years of self-abuse, self-medication and a severe addiction to heroin have left her volatile and desperate. Her family fears that if she does not heal from her violent past and the childhood she lost, she will never have the future she deserves. Sylvia Parsons is Karissa's Interventionist.
Brothers Daniel and Robert were on the road to success. Daniel was headed for a career with the NY Yankees and Robert was an aspiring civil engineer. Injury ended a once bright career for Daniel who slid into using pain pills and then heroin to cope. The constant insecurity of living in his younger brother's shadow lead Robert down the same path. Now the brothers spend their days injecting up to 21 bags of heroin per day - each. It is only a matter of time before this family loses both boys. Jeff VanVonderen is the Interventionist.
A woman, once a top Contender to become a naval officer, works as a professional sugar baby to keep a supply of drugs flowing.
A paranormal expert risks joining the entities he speaks to due to his habitual consumption of vodka and easy access to opiates.
With a booming family business that could one day be hers, Alicia's future looked bright. But reconnecting with her biological father sent Alicia down a path of pain and self-destruction that has led to a full-blown addiction to heroin and Xanax.
The owner of a funeral home turns to alcohol to cope with the trauma he experienced recovering the bodies of victims in the Oklahoma City bombing.
A woman born in Montana's Blackfeet Nation begins using two drugs readily available on her reservation following the tragic death of her boyfriend.
Rob was already a successful business owner when he inherited over a million dollars and several valuable properties from his father. But after his father's recent death, Rob, a former crack addict, picked up the pipe again.
A woman's heroin and meth abuse divides a family unit that has been crumbling due to rape, drugs and divorce.
A young woman becomes trapped in huffing addiction after a move to the big city, with a sexual assault the root of her addiction.
Badly bullied youth turns to drugs for a chance to fit in. Now he's lost everything--his wife, two daughters, and his sanity.
A college student coping with survivor's guilt succumbs to reckless alcohol abuse.
A young mother's eating disorder has been a life-long affliction, now compounded by drug and sex addiction--but to get rid of all of her demons she'll have to eliminate more than just her food.
Katie was a beautiful and successful mortgage broker and drug & alcohol counselor whose pride and joy were her two kids.
Wealthy entrepreneur loses everything to crack, reducing her life to a never ending cycle of prostitution and begging.
A woman becomes addicted to prescription pain pills after the birth of her first child, and later winds up addicted to heroin and at risk of losing her second marriage.
Handsome, talented musician's promising career is sideswiped by crystal meth, plunging him into a life of crime, prostitution, and addiction.
A woman who's alcohol addiction spiraled out of control to include a large mix of drugs and huffing hits Rock Bottom following her divorce.
A bodybuilder's spiral from steroids to heavy drugs leave him bankrupt, delusional, and in imminent danger of losing his family.
A promising young boxer and wrestler who hoped to compete in the Olympics and was also a gifted pre-med student developed an addiction to pain pills, which soon leads to heroin abuse.
A transgender woman becomes increasingly violent when drunk, leading her family to fear for both her safety and their own.
A woman turns to opioids to erase the pain of her grandmother's death; after getting control of her addiction, she descends back into drug use to cope with an abusive relationship.
A woman's alcoholism leads to her developing a brain disorder, which lands her in the hospital with temporary paralysis and a feeding tube.
A successful house flipper from a prominent real estate family loses everything in the 2009 housing market collapse; two severe construction accidents lead to an addiction to painkillers and meth.
Two sisters unite in an attempt to save the life of their younger brother, who is following his mother's destructive path of drug abuse.
Katherine was a bright college student with dreams of becoming a journalist until she was abducted and brutally assaulted. Katherine swiftly spiraled, becoming dependent on a dangerous mix of drugs to mask the trauma. Her parents have already purchased a burial plot for her and are certain that it's only a matter of time before they bury their only child.
Tanisha was living the dream life as an assistant to rap icon, Snoop Dogg. But when her fiance was brutally killed in front of her, grief-stricken, Tanisha turned to her mother, who introduced her to heroin. Tanisha has become a full-time junkie, and her family is terrified that without help, they will lose her.
By the age of 21, Joshua had the world in his hands. A six-figure salary managing a dozen convenient stores, marriage, and owner of his own home, Joshua was a great provider for his wife and her children. But a back surgery in 2010 led to a severe addiction to pain pills that morphed into an extraordinary addiction to hand sanitizer that has cost him everything. Now, his family is petrified that without help, Joshua's his addiction will blind him, cause a massive stroke, or death by organ failure.
Clint, 36, was raised in a tight-knit, middle-class family. His parents expected success for their four children who were all precocious and engaged in school. But in high school, when his siblings had gone off to college, Clint fell in with the wrong crowd and began to struggle. The only graduation he would see was to a life controlled by crystal meth and opioids. At a loss as to where it all went wrong, Clint's parents have seen their son's excesses progress to crazy and dangerous levels. Without an intervention, they know he will die.
As a child Melissa endured an unstable and tumultuous upbringing. As a teenager, she found a friend in crack cocaine and began a life of partying and drugs that continued until her son was born. Eager to create a stable life for her child, Melissa went cold turkey and enrolled in nursing school. But the good times did not last long. Melissa fell narrowly short of graduating, and slipped back into a life of crack cocaine and heroin abuse. Now, at 32, Melissa sells her body to support her habits and has lost custody of her son. Her family fears that she has nothing left to live for and, without an intervention, will soon be dead.
Austin had everything he could have wanted growing up: the love and support of a close-knit family and an invitation to go to a school for gifted teens. But not wanting to be separated from his pals, Austin turned the offer down in favor of the local high school, a decision that led to a life of partying, and ultimately down the rabbit hole of heroin and fentanyl addiction. Now his family can only watch in horror as Austin wastes his considerable gifts on the relentless pursuit of his addiction.
The only child of a single mother and world-class fiddle player, Alex was surrounded by music from birth. His mother married when Alex was five, but after a few years the marriage deteriorated and life became difficult at home. Friction with his stepfather left Alex increasingly isolated and he turned to the fiddle to try and gain acceptance. Alex's skill developed and he had some early recognition, but living in his mother's musical shadow was difficult and he began to compensate with alcohol as a young teenager. Just as Alex was beginning his professional career, his mother and stepfather divorced. The combination of his family's dysfunction and life spent on the road soon turned his fondness for drink into a debilitating, fall-down addiction. Now in his mid-twenties, Alex's career is at a standstill and his health is rapidly deteriorating. Without an intervention, he could lose his career, his family and his life.
With the birth of her two daughters, Samantha gave up using crystal meth and heroin. But when she began consorting with figures from her druggy past, she fell back into addiction and soon lost custody of her children. Samantha's family are desperate to help her be the good mother she once was, but now she is addicted to fentanyl and her very life hangs in the balance.
Ashley was a child prodigy on the TaeKwonDo octagon, headed for international competition had she stayed the course. But when the haunting memory of childhood molestation caused her to turn to the numbing effects of drugs at the age of 15, her athletic career was pinned to the mat. Now 21, Ashley is deeply addicted to crack cocaine and IV opioids. As she and her girlfriend are evicted from their apartment for their disruptive fights, excessive drug use and partying, her family fears that, without an intervention, Ashley will disappear into the streets forever.
Documenting the nation's opiod crisis in the Heroin Triangle, a collection of affluent suburban communities north of Atlanta; volatile couple Tiffany and Billy use a sizable tax return to score a large of amount of heroin.
Interventionist Heather Hayes enlists the help of colleague Donna Chavous to further investigate the opioid epidemic north of Atlanta; Zac's family history of violence and drug abuse threatens to undermine his intervention.
A heroin addict's pimp sends her out on a bad call; the expanding reach of the Heroin Triangle puts first responders at risk; a police sergeant tries to get a homeless addict into a detox center; a former millionaire squats in an abandoned house.
Toni reveals details from her past relationship with Micah; interventionist Ken Seeley meets with Allen's sister to hear more about his past; Heather Hayes and Candy Finnigan switch gears in their triple intervention of Tiffany, Billy and Tracey.
Michael Gonzales attempts to get Toni's mother, father and sister on the same page for Toni's intervention; young, heroin-addicted couple Kiersten and David live in a co-dependent relationship with David's mother, Linda.
Police are called to the scene when a situation escalates; a young woman dances at a local strip club to finance her heroin habit; David and Kiersten's relationship comes to a dramatic head; Angela quits heroin cold turkey.
Taylor's mother makes a disturbing discovery; Angela's frustration with her ex-husband challenges her ability to stay clean; Kiersten attempts to reconcile with her parents, but her heroin use stands in the way.
Angela encounters a deadly relapse trigger; Taylor's mother has trouble keeping her emotions in check after her daughter's dangerous lifestyle escalates; Donna Chavous employs tough tactics in her double intervention of Kiersten and David.
David and Kiersten's intervention hits a roadblock when David changes his mind about getting help; Taylor endures a painful trip to the dentist, who deals with several infected teeth; reviewing the progress of Toni, Allen and Angela.
Sam and Brad's families have known each other since Sam and Brad were kids. Brad's sister was Sam's best friend growing up, and Brad's father coached Sam's softball team. Although Sam and Brad always had a crush on each other, it wasn't until they were adults that they finally connected. But when Brad introduced Sam to heroin and the two quickly got married, their drug-fueled codependency became the basis of their relationship. Sam lost custody of her son from a previous relationship, her career as a dental assistant, and recently contracted Hepatitis C. Brad has had multiple overdoses, lost his career, and his daughter from an earlier marriage. Their families are desperate for Sam and Brad to get clean, but are unable to work together as a united front, leaving Brad and Sam to continue on a downward spiral. Now they fear that rock bottom will mean both of their deaths.
On the surface, Jackie had it all: a large tight knit family, a devoted husband, two beautiful sons, and a nursing career. But unbeknownst to anyone, Jackie found herself stuck in a loveless marriage. For 15 years she put on the happy face, but gradually began to drink and before she knew it, she was a full-blown alcoholic guzzling up to a gallon of wine a day. In 2015, her marriage dissolved, and after three wrecked cars and a DUI, she lost her RN license. Her bottom should have been a near fatal OD in Feb. 2017, but Jackie continues to drink, and her family and sons are helpless to save her.
Abbie was a young mom with dreams of going to college for photography. But she was hiding a dark secret from her family. Her boyfriend, and father of her daughter, had become physically and mentally abusive. The beatings escalated, and Abbie ended up in surgery after a punch to the face shattered bones and required three metal plates. Abbie began drinking excessively to cope with the abuse. Though she finally pressed charges after he threw boiling soup on her, Abbie is now a fullblown alcoholic. Her parents are raising her daughter while Abbie lives nearby with a new boyfriend who enables her addiction. Her alcoholism has gotten so bad that Abbie already has chronic liver, kidney, and bone marrow damage. Without help, Abbie's family fears that her daughter will lose her mom for good.
At the age of 22, Shiann has already faced a lifetime of pain. The shocking death of her sister, a diagnosis of A.S., a progressive and debilitating disease, and an unexpected divorce, sent this once vivacious fitness model and bodybuilder down a path of meth-fueled binges. With no help in sight, her family fears losing another loved one to an early death.
Adorable and fearless, Jade had an ideal childhood until her father's increasing depression led to her parents' divorce and her father's attempted suicide. Now, at 24, Jade has a severe addiction to prescription opioids and cocaine.
As a fully committed mom, Sandra was involved in her kids' school activities as well as after-school sports. But in 2015, her abuse of prescription pills after an injury led to an opioid and heroin addiction. Within two years, this incredible mom has truly fallen from grace. Also: After leaving an abusive marriage, Mallory turned to drugs to cope with the fallout.
John and Tom are brothers who spent their formative years working with their parents and grandparents in a successful business. While they appeared to be a close knit, hard-working family, a dark family history of drug abuse entrapped the brothers. Their mother realizes that without help, all could be lost.
At the young age of 20, Morgan and Brett are both battling addiction. Brett was an only child when his alcoholic father abandoned him. Raised by his mother in her parents' home, Brett was on his way to success despite their struggles. But when his mom moved them into a new home with her violent boyfriend, Brett's addiction spiraled. Morgan is married, has a one-year-old daughter, and is addicted to the only drug she ever tried - heroin. Without an intervention, the once picture-perfect child may now be in danger of leaving her own child motherless.
The interventionists arrive to Philadelphia's Heroin Hub and meet Nicole, a 39-year-old heroin addict and prostitute, who's lived in the area for five years. Also featured is Janine, a 22-year-old addict whose father just died from a fatal overdose weeks earlier.
Interventionist Donna Chavous must re-think Janine's intervention now that she's in jail. Interventionist Jim Reidy meets with Nicole's family and learns how she ended up on the streets. 38-year-old heroin addict Bill finances his addiction by selling clean needles to other addicts. The city of Philadelphia organizes a mass eviction in Kensington to remove addicts from the neighborhood.
Alana is a recovering heroin addict who's trying to stay sober while maintaining a relationship with her addict boyfriend. Nicole's fianc 's reaction to Nicole getting help throws her whole intervention into question. 28-year-old heroin addict Amanda risks losing custody of her 2-year-old son for good if she can't get clean. On the eve of Bill's intervention, his family receives shocking news about Bill.
After Bill's arrest, Interventionist Michael Gonzales strategizes with his family on ways to intervene once he's released from jail. Alana's mother suspects that Alana may have relapsed and kicks her out of her home. Janine is released from jail and must decide if she's ready to get clean. Bill's family intervenes on him outside the courthouse the moment he is released from jail.
Amanda is torn between her addict boyfriend who's in jail, and her ex-boyfriend, an EMT who is still in love with her. 31-year-old EJ's heroin use has escalated since his mother's unexpected death. While in treatment, Nicole and Janine reveal dramatic updates about where they are in their recoveries. Interventionist Heather Hayes leads an emotional intervention on Amanda.
EJ's lies and deceptions cause a rift in his family, as some continue to enable him while others holds a firm bottom line. Interventionist Ken Seeley intervenes on EJ, who must finally decide if he is ready to accept help and go to treatment. Janine, Nicole, Bill, Alana, Amanda and EJ give final updates about their recoveries and hopes for the future.
Melanie was just eight months old when her dad committed suicide. Her mother's subsequent trauma went untreated, and she struggled raising her three kids. Melanie, the youngest, suffered the most. She began acting out and getting in trouble to gain attention. When she was nine, she was diagnosed and medicated for ADHD. Then, at 14, Melanie was introduced to crack cocaine by an older boyfriend. She was instantly hooked and ended up in rehab at 15. Melanie got clean and turned things around, going back to school and becoming a Personal Support Worker - a vocation that she loved. At 19, shortly after a breakup, Melanie found out she was pregnant and her ex-boyfriend wanted no part of being a father. She loved her son and was a good mother but, four months after giving birth, she became depressed and starting using crack cocaine again. Now, five years later, Melanie is saddled with a severe addiction. Without an intervention, Melanie will lose custody of her son, or worse, lose her life.
Robin once overcame a drinking problem to become a successful pilot, but the stress of being away from his wife and children drove him back to booze. It didn't take long before Robin's problem destroyed his career and family. Robin's parents and brothers believe the brilliant pilot is still in there somewhere, but without an intervention, they're fearful that Robin may spiral to a horrible death.
Chelan was a devoted wife and mother until the breakup of her marriage sent her spiraling into the world of prescription opioid abuse. Three years later, Chelan is homeless, works as a prostitute and is no longer allowed to see her three little boys.
Nathan was a promising young athlete until a painful injury left him with an addiction to prescription opioids. His family is afraid that he will meet an unfortunate end if there isn't an intervention.
When she was a teenager, Courtney's moodiness turned to rebellion and she began to experiment with drugs. Now, she no longer cares about her health or safety.
Coleman began experimenting with alcohol and drugs after his father died. His drug use caused him to lose custody of his 4-year-old daughter. His family worries his addiction may kill him.
Shandon's early life was disrupted at 3 years old when her parents divorced and her mother moved out of the country. Now in her mid-20s and saddled with a $200-a-day intravenous habit, she prostitutes herself to feed her addiction.
Natasha's new life after her parents' divorce contains alcohol and drug-fueled parties, and she later begins using harder drugs like crystal meth and heroin. Now a full-blown addict at 22, Natasha has a chance to start her life over.
Susan grew up in a devoutly Mormon household. As an adult, she suffered a back injury and was prescribed OxyContin. Not only did the medication ease her back pain, it also numbed the memories of her turbulent family upbringing and a recent breakup. She became addicted, and when her doctor stopped prescribing them, she turned to heroin.
After a series of tragic losses, Tristan relocates to Las Vegas for a construction career only to become an alcoholic.
Devastated when she lost custody of her son, Amanda began drinking heavily and moved to Las Vegas for a fresh start. Once there, she became seduced by the city's notorious party culture and started using methamphetamine.
Michael moved to Las Vegas to work with the world-famous hip-hop dance troupe "Jabbawockeez," but years of family betrayal caught up with him and after turning to meth, he's lost everything.
Born in Las Vegas, Erika overcame a heroin addiction due to childhood trauma, but now anxiety from the COVID-19 pandemic has caused her to relapse, placing her life and her dream in jeopardy.
After being seduced at a young age by the notorious party scene of Las Vegas, Lexi got clean and started a family of her own, only to lose it all to a dangerous meth and heroin addiction.
Jake moved to Las Vegas to work on a US Senator's re-election campaign in Nevada, but when he came out as gay, he was rebuffed by both his family and colleagues, plunging him into a deep depression which he futilely attempts to mask with alcohol.
Teenage hockey player Amber has an on-ice collision, benching her for good and forcing her to live with chronic pain. Surgery improves her underlying injury but leaves her with a dependence on pain medication.
Twenty-nine-year-old Mike was a loving dad and partner who was determined to be the father that he never had. After a workplace accident his dream came crashing down as he developed an addiction to prescription painkillers.
Elizabeth's single mother suffered from depression and alcoholism, and committed suicide when she was 8. She was shuffled in and out of foster homes before her father decided to try and raise her. In high school, she turned to alcohol to cope with her feelings of abandonment and isolation. Eventually Elizabeth began dating a drug dealer and replaced alcohol with opioids. Now 22 and hooked on a deadly combination of fentanyl and cocaine, Elizabeth sells drugs to fund her nearly $400/day addiction. Her father and half-sister are hoping an intervention will save Elizabeth from following her mother's path to an early grave.
A four-time Canadian champion, 35-year-old Tim was well on his way to the big leagues in the lucrative world of mixed martial arts. Tim's family had a history of addiction and that cycle was an opponent he just couldn't pin to the mat.
Dan, a talented hockey player, struggles to live up to his alcoholic father's expectations. Dan's desire to have an amicable father-son relationship comes to an abrupt end when his father dies in a car crash, fueling his own alcoholic breakdown.
Pamela quickly turned to a life of partying and drugs. It wasn't until Pamela had a son that she found purpose and sobriety. Her family fears that without intervention, Pamela's future is in serious doubt.
After being sexually assaulted at her first party at the age of 14, Kelsey began using alcohol ad drugs to mask the pain. Today, she is unrecognizable. Her kind, gentle soul has turned aggressive and destructive.
When Nicholette's mother was diagnosed with cancer, Nicholette started partying and dabbling with drugs. Now, her addiction is out of control and her family fears losing her if there's not a successful intervention.
Caitlin hid from her attachment wounds by overachieving in school and sports. Her focus and drive led her to a promising career in nursing, but she would regularly binge drink alcohol on weekends.
Travis turns a modest lawn-mowing business into a multimillion-dollar landscaping company. Within a few short years, everything he works so hard to build crumbles amid the chaos of his now-daily use of lethal amounts of crack cocaine.
Clayton, once a devoted family man, swore he would give his child the love and attention that he himself never received. When Clayton was just ten years old, his father's gender dysphoria led to a breakdown of the family. Caught in the middle between his warring parents, Clayton turned to drugs and alcohol to escape. Now a full-blown heroin addict, Clayton has lost his right to be a father to his 8-year-old daughter. With nothing left to live for, Clayton's family is terrified that he will not survive without a successful intervention.
Unable to process the untimely deaths of her father and brother, Elann obliterates her emotions with vodka. Seeing her daughter's mental health in steep decline, her mother believes this intervention is the only hope for her.
After successfully losing 100 pounds and getting breast augmentation, Maria began to socialize and frequent bars on the weekends, which put a strain on her marriage; eventually, Maria and her husband divorced.
Nicknamed "Krystal Cali," for her classic California looks and energetic personality, Krystal lived out her dream of getting married and dedicating her life to two young sons, but the effects of growing up in a dysfunctional family, along with the death of her father turned "Krystal Cali" into an alcohol, heroin, meth and fentanyl addict.
Growing up, Peter excelled in everything he did--school, sports and the arts, but the pressure of being perfect and the fear of letting his family down, coupled with a secret childhood trauma led Peter to fentanyl and now he's smoking 1000 times the lethal dose every single day.
Jesse grew up gender fluid in household rife with addiction, trauma and dysfunction, and after nearly losing his mother to drugs, Jesse spiraled into an addiction of his own and now lives on the streets of Oceanside, California, smoking fentanyl while his now-sober family fights to save his life.
Despite being born into a family of addicts, Ashley was a straight-A student with dreams of attending one of the top universities in California. But her hopes were dashed when her stepfather introduced her to meth and heroin as a teenager, and now she's homeless and self-medicating with every drug she can get her hands on.
After a terrifying burn accident as a child, Jayden grew up hoping to become a firefighter and fight California's notorious forest fires. But now after a series of tragic events, 20-year-old Jayden is smoking dangerous amounts of fentanyl, and his family fears that his life will soon be snuffed out.
Elliot overcame a traumatic childhood and moved to Las Vegas to pursue his dream of becoming a chef on the Vegas Strip, but the rampant drug culture in restaurant kitchens along with the sudden death of his brother sent Elliot reeling, and now he's homeless and addicted to heroin.
At 16, while trying a difficult skateboard maneuver, Ryan severely injured his ankle. Doctors prescribed opioids, and Ryan, couchbound for a year, enjoyed the emotionally numbing effect of the drugs. When his ankle healed and his prescription was cut off, Ryan turned to street drugs for his fix. Now 26, he is addicted to fentanyl, and has nearly lost his life to overdose multiple times. Ryan's parents fear that without a successful intervention, he is sure to perish at the hands of his addiction.
When an unfortunate family secret is accidentally revealed to Brea, the world she's known her entire life is shattered. As she begins to tailspin out of control with the help of alcohol and pharmaceuticals, all her mother can do is fight to pick up the pieces.
Raised in Northern California, Kenny excelled in football and had big dreams of playing in the NFL, but a misstep in high school triggered a series of events that left him homeless and addicted to dangerous amounts of fentanyl.
Highschool sweethearts Joe and Christine raised their three children in a middle-class neighborhood of Orange County, CA. But when Christine's brother died in a tragic accident, she turned to methamphetamine and her seemingly perfect family spiraled out of control. Now she, her boyfriend, and her three adult children not only live together in a small studio apartment, but they're all addicted to meth and dangerous amounts of fentanyl. Interventionists Ken Seeley and Sylvia Parsons team up on the biggest case of their careers and make a shocking discovery that could sabotage the whole intervention.
Despite multiple overdoses and medical emergencies, Christine and her three adult children continue to use dangerous amounts of fentanyl together in their single studio apartment in Garden Grove, CA. In an effort to save their lives before it's too late, their sober relatives work with interventionists Ken Seeley and Sylvia Parsons for an unprecedented intervention on the entire family of fentanyl addicts.
29-year-old Sarah had it all: a son she cherished, a rockstar fiancé, and a lucrative career as a one of the California Bay Area's top models. But she threw it all away when years of unchecked childhood trauma finally caught up to her, and she began to numb her pain with fentanyl and meth. Now she's lost custody of her son and is homeless--and her family fears that if Sarah doesn't get help, she will certainly die.
34-year-old Jordan served in the Army, and then had a successful career as an ICU nurse. But after 8 years, the pressure of caring for seriously ill patients became too much, and Jordan turned to alcohol to cope. Two years ago, when the COVID-19 pandemic hit, and ICU deaths skyrocketed, Jordan spiraled further into his addiction and eventually lost his job, his wife and his kids. Now Jordan lives with his parents and drinks all day long. His family knows that their son, who once worked tirelessly to save others' lives, now needs someone to save his own life.
In an unprecedented episode, model, musician, entrepreneur, and social media phenomenon Amber Rose travels home to South Philadelphia to come to the aid of her childhood best friend Tina, who's addicted to fentanyl and crack--but first, she must find her. Tina is currently lost on the dangerous streets of Kensington--which home to the largest open air drug market on the east coast. Desperate to locate her friend, Amber enlists the aid of Tina's family, a local private investigator, and Interventionist Michael Gonzales; and together the mission is to blanket Kensington, find Tina, get her to treatment and hopefully save her from becoming one of Kensington's deadly statistics.
